Important Dates
TERM ONE 2022
Friday 18 March - Being a Sporting Hero Free Dress Day
Friday 1 April - Disco K-6 now postponed
Tuesday 5 April - Parent Interviews Kindy, Years 1,3 & 5
Thursday 7 April - Parent Interviews Pre-primary, Years 2, 4 & 6
Interschool Swimming Carnival – postponed
Swimming training – postponed
(Full 2022 term dates at the end of this newsletter)
Dear Parents and Caregivers
Happy St Patrick’s Day! It was lovely to share some stories with the Year 3 class this morning about St Patrick’s life and legacy of bringing Christianity to Ireland. The Year 2 class had a leprechaun visit who was up to some tricks in the classroom. I am sure you will hear some interesting stories about this special day.
COVID Update
I would like to again acknowledge and thank you for the ongoing support of our school community over the last few weeks, as we transitioned into ‘very high caseload’ measures for COVID. We know that this information is abundant and can be overwhelming at times.
Rather than inundating parents each time there is a new case at school, correspondence regarding new cases, will now be directed to the particular class and the close contacts. A helpful WA Health site for current information on close contacts and quarantine protocols can be found HERE.
Self Reporting Portal for COVID-19
It is vitally important that parents and caregivers inform the school if your child tests positive for COVID-19.
To support our planning for your child’s classroom attendance, please also notify the school name if your child returns a negative PCR/ RAT result, after:
· being identified as a close contact (Day 1 test to return to school as an asymptomatic close contact), and/or
· being identified as a household close contact (Day 7 test to conclude quarantine).
To help streamline this process a COVID-19 Self-reporting Form for Students and Staff members has been developed by Catholic Education WA (CEWA). Parents and caregivers can now inform the school of their child’s positive or negative COVID result via this LINK. The information will go directly to the Principal, prompting our COVID response.
Please do not underestimate the importance of informing our school of a positive COVID case. Your actions will ensure the risk to others is minimised and that we do our very best to limit the spread of the virus across our community.
Here is the link to the form to self-report your child's results: https://cewa-collections.powerappsportals.com/COVID-19-Self-Reporting-Form/
Ventilation Audit
As one of our preventive measures in this COVID landscape, our school has had a ventilation audit to measure the air flow in every area in the school. We have also used carbon dioxide monitors to monitor and measure the air quality. I am pleased to advise that there were no areas that required extra attention.
Harmony Day
Each year we celebrate Harmony Day, a special day for us to reflect, acknowledge and embrace inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for us all in our multicultural school community here at St. Thomas’. On Wednesday 23 March, students will be participating in activities to celebrate. On this day, students may come to school wearing orange.
Parent /Teacher Interviews
A reminder that the booking link for parent teacher interviews for Kindergarten to Year 6 students will go live this Monday 21 March. An SMS will be sent to parents on Monday when the booking site has been activated.
May God bless your week
Natalia Thomson
PRINCIPAL
Be a Sporting Hero Free Dress Day and Sports Equipment Collection in support of FAIR GAME
Students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite Sporting Hero on FRIDAY 18th March in return for a gold coin donation to support Fair Game, a WA charity that recycles sports equipment and distributes it to children in remote, regional and underserviced communities across the State.
- Come dressed as your favourite sporting hero or in your team colours
- Bring any unwanted or outgrown sports equipment to donate – most needed items are runners, footy boots, footballs, soccer balls and basketballs. Please make sure donations are clean and in good useable condition with plenty of life left in them.
- We are not able to take helmets or clothing.
Your gold coin donation and pre-loved equipment makes you a sporting hero as it enables another child to enjoy the benefits of playing sport too.
From the Assistant Principal
PARENT-TEACHER MEETINGS
Parent-teacher interviews will be held online during Tuesday 5 April (for Kindergarten, Years 1, 3, 5) and Thursday 7 April (Pre-primary, Years 2, 4, 6).
These opportunities offer parents and teachers the opportunity to discuss student progress so far this year with a view to celebrate strengths and identify some future focus areas of growth for your child. Prior to the meeting, teachers will send home a hard-copy Interim Report detailing their child’s progress against the expected level for students in that year level. Progress will be indicated in the learning areas of Religious Education, English and Mathematics. The indications of progress are not a ‘final grade’. Grades against the A-E scale are only provided in the End of Semester reports. The Interim Report also contain some Personal and Social indicators. It is intended that the Interim Report will form the basis for conversations at the interview.
Parent-Teacher-Online (PTO) is the system St Thomas’ uses for booking these interviews. Further information will be provided in an email to all Kindergarten to Year Six parents on Friday 18 March, detailing the process for booking a 10 minute time slot. The booking website will open on Monday 21 March. If you have any issues with these bookings, please email me: heath.nankivell@cewa.edu.au for assistance.
WELLBEING SURVEYS
Students across the school are trialling a new process for wellbeing check-ins. Numerous research studies have identified a strong correlation between wellbeing and positive student performance across a range of domains at school. To help staff identify wellbeing levels amongst students, classes have implemented a Student Wellbeing Check-in. Check-ins look different across the school, with upper primary students completing an online form, and junior primary students either using a form, paper check-ins or other methods to help teachers monitor an individual student’s wellbeing. Whilst, wellbeing check-ins are not an exact science, these check-ins are a positive step in ensuring we have happy, safe and comfortable students in our school. I encourage parents to conduct verbal check-ins with their child/children to also monitor how they may be traveling and if they need a helping hand.
Heath Nankivell
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Change of Date: Pupil Free Day in Term 2
There has been a change in date for our pupil free day in Term 2. It was originally scheduled for the first day of Term 2, Tuesday 26 April however, due to the rescheduling of the Year 6 Camp, this Pupil Free Day has now moved to Term 3 on Monday 22 August. This coincides with a pupil free day at John XXIII.
Thank you
Lets meet our staff
Name: Jessica Berettieri
Position: Education Assistant
Interests: Going to the beach, movie theatre and catching up with friends
Football Team: Don’t follow any football team
Favourite Food: Italian food
Currently Reading: Fiction novels
Favourite Holiday Destination: Margaret River
3 people you’d invite to dinner: A kind person, creative person and an adventurous person.
What would you do with your last $50?: Go to the movies and enjoy a nice meal with friends.
Favourite Movie: Marvel movies
Favourite Quote: “No matter what people tell you words and ideas can change the world”
Someone you admire: My Mum
Sporting Communities
UWA Judo Club – Tuesday afterschool.
A message from UWA Judo club.
On behalf of the UWA Judo Club we would like to thank you (Sharon) and your school for supporting our after school judo program and its staff over the past years.
Unfortunately, I am writing to inform you that the club will not be able to continue classes at St Thomas in term 2 and going forward.
This is largely due to the costs associated with running the classes and consistently low student numbers.
In past years, we would advertise and actively recruit for more students. However, due to COVID travel restrictions the club are unable to source our usual complement of coaches, and we currently only have one coach to take the class. This limits the number of students we can accommodate safely on the mat.
St Thomas Primary is within close proximity to our main dojo in Claremont, with several students training intermittently with our main membership group. We will shortly be informing parents of the decision to discontinue at your school and will encourage all interested families to join in training at the main dojo. We run classes 6 days a week for juniors and have after school judo at the dojo on Thursday.
Kind regards
Melissa Dennehy
UWA Judo Secretary
St Thomas' Primary School
Email: admin@stthomas.wa.edu.au
Website: stthomas.wa.edu.au
Location: 8 Warden Street Claremont WA 6010
Phone: (08 9286 9500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stthomasprimaryschoolclaremont
Twitter: @StThomasCPS